Documents Relating to New Zealand's Participation in the Second World War 1939–45: Volume I

213 — The Governor-General of New Zealand to the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

213The Governor-General of New Zealand to the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

27 June 1940

The serious difficulties already experienced in equipping the New Zealand Expeditionary Force must obviously be added to materially by the necessity of re-equipping that portion of the British Expeditionary Force evacuated from France, to which attention is called in your telegram (No. 212), and in the light of this fact His Majesty's Government in New Zealand have been tentatively considering their future programme for the despatch of troops overseas. On the one hand, there would appear to be little to be gained by sending the Third Echelon to the United Kingdom if it cannot at once be fully trained and, within a reasonable period, fully equipped, and if consequently, as would apparently be the case, it would merely add to the mouths to be fed and to the large number of troops already awaiting equipment in the United Kingdom, where indeed it might be obliged to wait for a very considerable period before, by the transfer of the First Echelon, the concentration of the New Zealand Division would be possible. On the other hand, His Majesty's Government in New Zealand do not exclude the possibility (though they would regret it) of brigading the Second and Third Echelons of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force with Australian or British troops and thus forming a composite division, though they feel that unless the necessary equipment were available this again would be of little advantage. His Majesty's Government in New Zealand have also recently been directing some attention to the proposal that they should despatch a brigade group to Fiji in the event of a threat of hostilities in the Pacific,1 and if it should be considered undesirable to despatch the Third Echelon to the United Kingdom on the completion of its preliminary training here they are inclined to believe that at that point it might be prudent to transfer a portion of it to Fiji, thus ensuring its being in position if required, and, after recruiting to full strength, to hold the remainder here until the situation in the United Kingdom with respect to equipment is easier. All these matters have been giving